Just in time for the run-up to new Thor movie, which happens to feature Thor in a gladiator-style arena fighting The Hulk, Comixology is rolling out it’s second exclusive Marvel Digital comic: Thor Vs. Hulk: Champions of the Universe.

Much like their initial Iron Fist offering, this looks at first glance to be a YA-targeted comic. It’s got an age rating of 9+ on the Comixology page and the sample pages seem to go along with that.

What’s it about?

“The Mighty Thor and The Incredible Hulk have long been two of the strongest, mightiest, and most sought out heroes of the Marvel Universe,” said series writer Jeremy Whitley. “Thor is a god, Hulk is a colossus. Now the Champion of the Universe is looking for an opponent and Hulk and Thor are the top contenders. So rather than fight them both, The Champion’s new promoter has set up a series of contests which Hulk and Thor must complete to decide who will face The Champion.”

In fact, Whitley has tweet that the new promoter is The Promoter, a new elder.

The first issue of Hulk/Thor introduces our new Elder of the Universe: The Promoter. Like all good promoters, she dresses for the occasion pic.twitter.com/dmtL3QgH7p

It’s a little early to know if there are trends going on here or not. It’s another bi-weekly series. Between the first digital-first Iron Fist series and Thor vs. Hulk, it looks like they might be skewing towards a young audience and tying in with other media. Although Iron Fist’s Netflix series is a whole lot less likely to have young viewers than Thor: Ragnarok is. But what appears to be Marvel’s experiment in digital serialization and print tpb marches on. It will need a full lifecyle across a few different titles before it can be evaluated. And it will be interesting to see if whatever the third digital first series is will establish some trends.

Official PR follows and then some preview pages:

Marvel and comiXology present the next series in their line of exclusive digital comics – Thor Vs Hulk: Champions Of The Universe. The perfect entry point for new readers, Thor Vs Hulk: Champions Of The Universe is written by Jeremy Whitley with art by Simone Buonfantino and Alti Firmasyah. Thor Vs Hulk focuses on two of Earth’s mightiest heroes, whose skills, endurance and friendship are put to the test when they’re pitted against each other to decide who will fight the Elder of the Universe known as the Champion. New issues of Thor Vs Hulk will be available bi-weekly through comiXology and Kindle as part of the comiXology Originals line of exclusive digital content.

Thor Vs Hulk is available for $2.99 on comiXology and Kindle or free to comiXology Unlimited subscribers as part of their subscription. New users to comiXology’s popular subscription service can also access Thor Vs Hulk for free as part of their 30-day free trial.

“The Mighty Thor and The Incredible Hulk have long been two of the strongest, mightiest, and most sought out heroes of the Marvel Universe,” said series writer Jeremy Whitley. “Thor is a god, Hulk is a colossus. Now the Champion of the Universe is looking for an opponent and Hulk and Thor are the top contenders. So rather than fight them both, The Champion’s new promoter has set up a series of contests which Hulk and Thor must complete to decide who will face The Champion.”

“We wanted to take the things we love from stories like Contest of Champions and add a new twist that allows us to play in the ENTIRE Marvel Universe,” Whitley continued. “Every issue is a new world, a new task, and new trials for the God of Thunder and the Great Green Goliath. Readers will get to see some of their favorite elements of the Marvel Universe and a handful of new ones. We wanted to make a mini-series jam-packed with so much action that readers would come back to it again and again. It’s a love letter to two of the strongest Avengers and the wonderful universe they live in. A universe where anything can happen.”

Fans across the globe have been attracted to Marvel’s amazing characters through top-grossing movies, critically-acclaimed TV series, and ground breaking new publishing series that have driven titles like Guardians of the Galaxy, Daredevil, and Black Panther to new heights, alongside perennial favorites like Amazing Spider-Man and Avengers.

This past spring, Marvel Comics joined comiXology Unlimited, giving fans the ability to read over 10,000 titles including thousands of Marvel Comics’ single issues and collections as part of their comiXology Unlimited membership, featuring Super Heroes like The Avengers, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Black Panther, Iron Fist, Guardians of the Galaxy and more.

Todd Allen wears a lot of hats. At various times he’s been (alphabetically), a bouncer, college professor, humor columnist, Internet producer and an NBA/WNBA Beat Writer, among other things. He’s the author of Economics of Digital Comics. You should probably read it.